It’s Mills Memorial’s b OFFICIALLY OPENED © “March 4, 1961, the 40-bed Terrace and _ District Hospital was one of the more significant public sector construction ' - . Up, which raised. the money to add “10 more beds. : . But in 1953, the hospital’s gov-" . projects of its time inthis area. . The $833,000 facility also repre- . sented the conclusion of a multi-year “lobbying ‘effort on the part of local. residents to replace a Second World War-era building in which medical care had been provided. use today, as an apartment complex _on Little Ave., was purchased at the . ‘end of the war by a local commit- tee that was assisted by city founder George Little, who provided the land . on which it sits for $1. \vThrouphithe efforts of local resi-‘* -dentIda Robinson, ‘a very public’ appeal was ‘made at a Red -Cross conference in Vancouver for that or- ganization to run a hospital. It then provided the money and the expertise and a 10-bed facil- ity operating as a Red. Cross out- ‘post hospital that was opened in the building in 1948. - But as the area population grew, so did the strain on the hospital. By 1951, the Red Cross suggest- “DR. STANLEY Mills after v whom Mills Memorial Hospi- tali is named: His wife, Edith, was a nurse. “needed and that- Jead to the Terrace and District Association taking over the facility. © ° Anew organization was then set ering board realized the building ‘was no longer suitable and began: “lobbying, through a hospital -im- ~ ‘ provement district, to build a much That building, which is still. in’ larger and more modern facility. - “About this time, the [provincial health minister] Honourable Eric Martin visited the Terrace hospital ‘and after. expressing amazement at its dilapidated condition decided im- mediate action was necessary,” re- ported hospital trustee George Mc-.. Adams in the March 1, 196 Lissue of ' The.Terrace Herald. - “He obtained government ap- proval in principle and soon a firm of architects had been hired by the Terrace Hospital Board and a. site: chosen by government engineers.” Finally, after -what McAdams called a “long and difficult period” of back and forth between the fed- eral and provincial governments and the hospital board, a building con- . - Construction began in February 1960. The ‘hospital may ‘have opened with 40 beds but it was built so that 10 more beds could be easily added. ~ And construction was such that a new wing’ containing 25 beds could be accommodated without aihieulty on the Haugland Ave. property... At one time, the hospital con- tained more than 100 beds but.that. number has been drastically. scaled - back over the years as modern medi- cine reduced the need for people to - stay for long periods of time. - The building has:gone through a. series of renovations, upgrades and -improvements over the past 45 years to, contain different kinds of medi- veal equipment and services, A major .: expansion program finished in:1968 _ costing $1.2 million. Mills Memorial now contains the region’s psychiatric care unit and a new kidney dialysis unit and a psy- chiatric living quarters has been built on its grounds. ° “This spring, a new intensive care unit will open on the main floor to replace the one on the second floor. And a completely renovated The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - A5 irthday open this spring as well. After 45 years, the . building . is showing signs of wear and the Northern Health Authority, which. ‘now runs the facility, has begun the complicated and long task of Plan- * ning some kind of replacement. = The first name of the hospital was ‘ _the Terrace °and District’ Hospital, but. that. was changed to recognize ® and honour medical - “Pioneer ‘Dr, « Stanley Mills.. a He and wife Edith,’a nurse, came to Terrace in 1930. Mills practised. medicine throughout the area until’ retiring in failing health in 1957. ' ‘Edith Millis continued to work at the hospital. It'was Dr: Mills who: spéarhgaded ‘local efforts at the end of the Second” World War which culminated in that”. first Red Cross facility. ° " An early’ morning fire at their. Lazelle Ave. residence on. May 21, 1961, just two months: after the hospital opened, took both of their - lives. Reports indicate Edith Mills went back into the house to. rescue her husband but was overcome by smoke. ° The name was officially changed . -ed more: formal local control was Hospital’s — milestones _ -ANY NEW hospital has a series of firsts. That was the case at: the ‘new Mills Memorial Hospi- tal, starting ‘from its first day . of : occupancy in 1961. First patient ANNIE THIBIDEAU was the first patient at Mills Memorial Hospital on March 17, 1961. She had been at : the old Red Cross hospital’ ’ on Little Ave. The Thibideau family ar- -rived in Terrace in the fall of -.1950 when Annie, her hus-- band Rev. Harry Thibide- au and their five children came here to start a Baptist church. In the beginning, they held: Sunday school and . _ Sunday morning worship service in the Legion hall on _ Lakelse Ave. which is now the National vehicle rental location. ; They came from Toledo, Ohio and lived here until - 1962 when Mrs. Thibideau — became ill and left: to go . sion with gifts. She still has some of the ‘special gifts received for the - occasion, including a silver cup and a necklace. .The Ropers had five chil- dren born in Terrace, two at | the new Mills Memorial and - three at the old Red Cross hospital. _ The family lived in. Ter- race until 1965, when they . _ moved to the United States. The father, William Roper, died two years after they left’ Terrace in an automobile ac- cident. Terri. Leigh’ is a nurse, and works. at a brand new hospital. . First twins MILLS | Elizabeth and-Joe ‘Wideman at 8 p.m. on March 25, 1961. , only one incubator available at Mills Memorial so both babies were placed in this tract was signed} in 1959. MEMORIALS ° first twins were Joy Julian and June Elizabeth,.born to. At the time there. was back to Cleveland. for. sur- gery. The family followed soon after. _. First baby ' TERRI LEIGH Roper was the first. baby born at Mills Memorial Hospital on incubator for afew days. before the girls were bom, doctor saying she had better get two sets of everything. * Elizabeth Wideman re- Elizabeth said the night” she received a call from her © March 20, 1961, the first day of spring. . She was the fourth daugh- ter of Mr..And Mrs. William (Bill) Roper. At the time, a number of local business people honoured the occa- ceived her licensed practical '- nurse training in Alberta in 1952. She eventually moved to B.C., working first in New Westminster and then on the polio and TB wards at Pear- son hospital in Vancouver emergency room is scheduled: to © _ where she met Joe. ‘Joe. had already been here and liked it and took. a transfer back to work at - Skeenaview, where he spent -32 years. Elizabeth came to Terrace and began nursing at - the old Red Cross hospital. Joe and Elizabeth. were married in Terrace in 1960. After. the twins, the Wide- . mans had two other children, Karin and Ken. After Taising the children, Elizabeth re- turned to work as a practical “nurse at Mills Memorial for - another 26 years. First triplets | THE FIRST: triplets born at Mills Memorial Hospital were to Peter and Solange Mangnus on May 6, 1969. ‘The mangnus-ifent three. were Charles David, Judith Marie and Peter Brent. It took one half hour for all . three to be born. -Dr. Gordon Boyd deliv- ered the triplets, assisted by - Dr. Barrie Philips, Leslie Brooks and Dr. Peterson, a specialist from England. Solange said three weeks THE DISTINCTION of. being the first triplets born at Mills went to Charles, Judith and Peter: Mangnus, - pictured above, in 1969. The first twins were Joy and - June Wideman, pictured in the tub, below. ' to Mills Memorial Hospital in 1962. .. 7 Supports our elected representatives while fully « engaging - before the triplets were born, she went in for an x-ray and was told.she was about to ‘ have. three babies. She was to. immediately. admitted hospital. Charles was the first to be born, followed. by Judy then Peter. - Siblings Mike, 15, and <1 Harry, 11, made caring for the triplets much easier. And : .: there were many offers. of help by other people. _ Peter now lives in Kelow- : na and Judith’ and David i in Vancouver. _ INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE and information for the information on Mills Memorial Hospital came from Yvonne Moen and the Terrace Regionial His- - torical Society. ees CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD ~The Mail Ba pe Mian Dade. Pets deserve respect — Dear Sir: I am writing in response to offer my heartfelt wishes of hope to the Morberg family whose pet cat was shot recently... 4 As a pet owner myself, I am deeply disgusted and dis- turbed by this appalling act and feel sick by what has Te- | cently been happening in this town, regarding’ the actions ' of heartless people towards family pets. -. Lalso do not understand the reasoning;behind the lack “of action or investigation from our police force. The fam- ily specifically went to the authorities and reported what. “is a most troubling and very serious act. They were basi- cally ignored and. turned away. ‘This is unacceptable.. _ There are specific laws against cruelty to animals. ‘Did — the police think of looking at the issue of someone in pos- _ _ session of a firearm? Does this person have a a legal licence . ‘forthisgun? 9. oo People have told me that there i is no comparison but” nonetheless, I bet it would have been a different matter if the victim had been a member of the human race. : In my. mind,’ ‘all lives deserve respect, ‘especially the. ‘innocent ones, the” ones who cannot. defend. themselves against, such acts. . Louise Chaput, Terrace, B. Cc. “Terrace rocks i in Kelowna “Dear Sir: 0 « - During the weekend of Feb. 10: 2 Y had the privilege of attending the Terrace Ladies 50th Anniversary ' Nalen-.. - tines Bonspicl. The executive and volunteers are’ ‘to be commended as. you did Terrace e proud. ‘Thanks for the memories. : - ee ., Sally. Barry, wes 0", - Kelowne, BC. 4 . 6 : “Pet fee hike doubted “Dear Sir: .. : Lagree that sometimes the wrong people adopt pets sfor : the wrong reasons: With the new inflated fees it will mean : a fewer animals being adopted. a i What will happen now? Most will be euthanized. The simple solution is for the shelter not to just, give out ani-. mals but do.a ‘Screening, ensuring that the. right, animal Boes to the right family. ' Tknow of people in my area who get big dogs, and they we _aren’t allowed animals. So,when the landlord finds out, the dog islet loose only to go back to the shelter. = 3). . My own dog, a rotty/shep was ‘bought’, at the Terrace ‘ shelter i in 2004. She is ‘a gem., I couldn’ t be happier with , her and I paid $35.0 0 Now, only the wealthy among u us will be able t eo the love of a pet. I feel sick for all. the unwanted pets’ that os - will never find’ a i homie. a a - Samantha McGowan, - : Terrace, BC. oO o 6 aa T he work continues... | | Dear Sire’, apg TNE fe ufe ay yet reek “tes ¥ frees at ‘ The’ dust: has ‘been settling on. the. federal campaign o of 2006 and the new government of Canada will soon be ‘dis- cussing, debating and enacting: legislation of interest and « import, not only to us but-also to. future. generations. of - Canadians yet unbor. I 'pray.that all members of the new Parliament will be guided in their thoughts'and actions by © ‘the Creator‘and Sustainer of life. He alone’ gives wisdom ' ‘sufficient to the task. — ‘ -T thank all’ the candidates, their families and campaign » teams ‘who, gave of themselves for goals and values be- _ yond themselves; I congratulate: ‘Nathan Cullen ¢ on his re-’ > election: His personal energy has elicited voter confidence “in his ability. to represent the region in spite of. some im- _ ~ Portant Party. Policies that do, not reflect core. Public. se ti- oT ‘urge. all citizens to maintain z a posture that respectfully them in the dialogue about the kind of country’ we want to. _Teave to our children. ° : * Truth, justice, decency and respect for human life at all “stages. are values that endure beyond, elections,’ ‘We will... continue ‘to work and pray | for the manifestation of, those Bulkley Valley and across Canada. So Red satejior, Christian Heritage Party candidate, aes ‘Smithers, B.C. _ Frustrated with council, Dear Sir: . Does anyone else feel as frustrated as I: doi in’ ‘regards. to the City. of Terrace borrowing. money to purchase the : previous Co-Op building and now raising our taxes to pay. : - for it? Is there some master plan‘ in mind that the residents « of Terrace should be made aware of? - « Forgive meif I don’t ‘understand everything. ‘The prop- oy erty cost 1 million dollars which the city borrowed and i iS. now raising our taxes to pay forit.. “oe “What about the additional costs: to. disassemble the. ‘ building.. Word has it that this would cost a minimum of ‘« $250,000? How will we afford’to build: anything on it?:- And is the building going to be a make money. venture, or. take money: venture?’ Whatever is built‘has to be main- . tained. Furthermore, the. City of Terrace i is not ollecting . tax. money. on the} ‘property anymore." - Now we have the multiplex issue to ‘deal: with, I would | " hope that the’ City of Terrace consults its residents i in the“ - future on where we want our tax dollars ‘going. In. my" opinion there-are a lot of better places for ¢ our money. to be" going to than an old, dilapidated building or a multiplex. ©. __ I think the needs should be. addressed: before the an “wants. Why not focus on healthcare, education, basic ser- __vices such as road maintenance, etc.. . ' ” We obviously voted ‘these people i in, now v let’ 's make- them accountable. Perhaps the ‘citizens. of ‘Terrace, (my- self included) ought: to be attending. thé council meetings a sO we are more educated as: to what, decision. making i is mat _ taking place. ; Stacey Kennedy, _ Terrace, B. Cc. “About the Mail iIBag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our: address is 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G'5R2. You: can fax us at 250-638-8432 or. e-mail -us,at ‘newsroom@ - - terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Name,’ address and phone number required for verification.